A Crazy Two Weeks With a Little Turkey Mixed In.

Whew, we made it past the last few weeks! It was filled with a lot of twists and turns, but many blessings mixed in as well. 

It all started with Ragnar's co worker testing positive for Covid. He began to have some symptoms so he tested just to make sure he was in the clear. Well, he was positive. Thankfully the rest of us were negative and remained that way. We were pretty frustrated. After almost 2 years, why did he have to get it now?? The week his parents were FINALLY able to come visit us! It didn't make sense and the timing felt a little cruel. So, he tried to quarantine as best as he could and we prayed we remained negative so maybe his parents could still come. We had begun the weekend with Channing's soccer team losing the shootout game and already bummed cause we were clearly the better team, but we can't seem to catch a break, then Ragnar was given a raise he had been promised but it was not even worth a raise. So..mix that in, it wasn't off to a great start. 

We were hoping the next week started off well. Ragnar's parents ended up coming over night then taking our car to Dallas to visit her sister Brigette and see if Ragnar could test negative before they came back. Well on the day they were supposed to come back, our car didn't start and it all went further downhill. We ended up driving up to Dallas to get them and to not waste any more days with them since with Covid and the car we were losing time. We got to Dallas and hung out with his Aunt and Uncle and his sister Stephanie and her kids. The car was supposed to be ready that evening, but when we went to go get it, they found another problem. After much debate we decided to have our friends the Brown's bring it back from their trip to Dallas from Thanksgiving, and they were kind enough to do that. So we loaded in the car all 8 of us to go back and the van tire..which is brand new was flat! We figured it out and had a safe trip back to Houston. The rest of the week had some bumps with babysitters bailing, tree lights not working, covid test information getting lost etc, it seemed like if it could go wrong, it did.....but we made it. 

That was my take on the week last week as all I could mostly see was the frustrating things that happened and how our time with his parents that we were SO looking forward to didn't go as planned... 

This week I was able to see clearer and see the miracles that happened in the process. So I will relate it from that viewpoint for the rest. The first miracle was that Ragnar had little covid symptoms and the rest of us were ok, we didn't give it to the Hartzheim's and were able to salvage the visit. 

The second blessing was we got to spend time with his Aunt Brigette and Uncle Kent who worked so hard all week to help with the car and get it back to us. We also got to see his cousin Stephanie and get to know her kids. We were able to get back to Houston in one piece and enjoy a cozy car ride home together. 

We got to spend time bowling and playing together.

We basically had the side of the bowling alley to ourselves.

We got to spend a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home with both our parents and sweet sister Natalie. It's not too often the kids get to be with both sets of grandparents.

We had a nice Thanksgiving meal and got to play games. 

We got to go to an endowment session in the Houston temple and then do baptisms with Ella and Cavin and we had the whole font to ourselves as everyone we asked couldn't come, so it was a nice cozy experience and Ella, Cavin, and I helped almost 50 people be baptized. 

We had a nice time in the temple and a nice dinner after. 

Saturday we got to put up the Christmas decorations together. We made due with what we had and made it all work. We listened to music, danced, and Ursula made sugar cookies with the kids. 

Sunday the the kids performed some music for their grandparents to practice for their performance in a couple weeks. 

Then we introduced them to skookies!

Monday they had to head home, we hung out, went to Ragnar's work to meet his co workers, and then to Whataburger. 

All in all, the visit did not go as planned, our life which I feel is normally pretty put together, seemed to be a mess. Yet, we had a wonderful time with his parents. We love them and love when they take the time to visit us. They have been a huge blessing in our life, and we are so grateful for them.

So, when things are not going well, this has taught me to take a minute and try and look for the positives. For a couple weeks I could only focus on the negative, but you will find what you are looking for. I want to choose to find the positives and cherish this family support we have, despite if all went as planned. 

School Happenings!

The kids had some exciting events the past few weeks. 

Cavin made Middle School Region Orchestra again this year and was in philharmonic orchestra. He was 2nd chair cello and did a great job. He worked hard at it and has gotten to be a great player! He performed his region concert at Summercreek High School.

Doesn't he look great in a tux!

These are the kids from his school who made it.

Also he finished his first job and season reffing soccer. Here he is going to the bank to get his first bank account! He is hard working and I'm proud of him!

Channing also finished her soccer season with a sad shootout game which they lost in. She loved being a part of the team and having her dad coach! There were 18 girls on her team, but all of these 9 were members of our church.

Deacon finished his season undefeated again and loved every minute!

He has been playing with the same boys and really likes it. 

They had an end of season party at Tin Roof BBQ. 

I LOVE watching my kids work hard and grow. I'm glad they continue to improve and I love to watch them play. 

Home Renovation Time

We have loved our simple, comfy home for almost 10 years and have been grateful for the protection and peace it has provided us and our family. Our home was built in December of 2008 and we moved in June of 2011. The home was only lived in for 6 months and then the family foreclosed on the home and it sat vacant for almost 2 years. Although a sad situation for the previous owners, it has been a huge blessing for us. The timing, the price, the location, everything. With that said, after almost 13 years it has been time to do some updates. We have been planning projects for a while, but with the pandemic taking its toll on our income and building supplies and contractors and such, we had been waiting. Somehow the stars all aligned and aligned a little too well :) All of the people we had bids for things on the home could do it all at once. So, great for just knocking it out, not so great on the bank account! 

We started with the fence. It has been knocked down for a while and with the past storm it took its toll. We have townhomes behind us, so getting all three neighbors behind and to the sides to agree was a little tricky, but thankfully it was a success and we have a new fence!

This was before....

After!! It looks great and I love having a pretty, secure fence to look at as I type this post!

While the fence was being installed, we had our contractor Godofredo renovate our upstairs bathroom. The vanity was falling apart, and I could not clean the bathtub no matter how much I tried. As you know in Houston, mold is an annoying fact of life. So, since the kids no longer need a bathtub, we converted it to a bigger shower. 

Before...

During...

After!

I love it! It was hard to choose what I wanted in there, but I like it and am happy with my design choices!

Finally, we remodeled the dining room to make it an office. When Ragnar works from home, it is hard cause he has no where to go that is quiet, so we wanted to add some doors and transform it from a dining room to an office!

During..

After..

They did a great job and I am happy with how it turned out.

We added a few new rugs and we are almost finished!

I am grateful for the chance we have had to make some updates and am happy with the companies we chose to help make it what we invisioned!